The Prairie

by James Fenimore Cooper

  CHAPTER II

  Up with my tent: here will I lie to-night, But where, to-morrow?--Well, all's one for that --Richard the Third.

  The travellers soon discovered the usual and unerring evidences that theseveral articles necessary to their situation were not far distant. Aclear and gurgling spring burst out of the side of the declivity, andjoining its waters to those of other similar little fountains in itsvicinity, their united contributions formed a run, which was easily tobe traced, for miles along the prairie, by the scattering foliage andverdure which occasionally grew within the influence of its moisture.Hither, then, the stranger held his way, eagerly followed by the willingteams, whose instinct gave them a prescience of refreshment and rest.

  On reaching what he deemed a suitable spot, the old man halted, andwith an enquiring look, he seemed to demand if it possessed theneeded conveniences. The leader of the emigrants cast his eyes,understandingly, about him, and examined the place with the keenness ofone competent to judge of so nice a question, though in that dilatoryand heavy manner, which rarely permitted him to betray precipitation.

  "Ay, this may do," he said, satisfied with his scrutiny; "boys, you haveseen the last of the sun; be stirring."

  The young men manifested a characteristic obedience. The order, for suchin tone and manner it was, in truth, was received with respect; but theutmost movement was the falling of an axe or two from the shoulderto the ground, while their owners continued to regard the place withlistless and incurious eyes. In the mean time, the elder traveller, asif familiar with the nature of the impulses by which his children weregoverned, disencumbered himself of his pack and rifle, and, assistedby the man already mentioned as disposed to appeal so promptly to therifle, he quietly proceeded to release the cattle from the gears.

  At length the eldest of the sons stepped heavily forward, and, withoutany apparent effort, he buried his axe to the eye, in the soft body of acotton-wood tree. He stood, a moment, regarding the effect of the blow,with that sort of contempt with which a giant might be supposed tocontemplate the puny resistance of a dwarf, and then flourishing theimplement above his head, with the grace and dexterity with which amaster of the art of offence would wield his nobler though less usefulweapon, he quickly severed the trunk of the tree, bringing its talltop crashing to the earth in submission to his prowess. His companionsregarded the operation with indolent curiosity, until they saw theprostrate trunk stretched on the ground, when, as if a signal for ageneral attack had been given, they advanced in a body to the work, andin a space of time, and with a neatness of execution that would haveastonished an ignorant spectator, they stripped a small but suitablespot of its burden of forest, as effectually, and almost as promptly, asif a whirlwind had passed along the place.

  The stranger had been a silent but attentive observer of their progress.As tree after tree came whistling down, he cast his eyes upward at thevacancies they left in the heavens, with a melancholy gaze, and finallyturned away, muttering to himself with a bitter smile, like one whodisdained giving a more audible utterance to his discontent. Pressingthrough the group of active and busy children, who had already lighteda cheerful fire, the attention of the old man became next fixed onthe movements of the leader of the emigrants and of his savage lookingassistant.

  These two had, already, liberated the cattle, which were eagerlybrowsing the grateful and nutritious extremities of the fallen trees,and were now employed about the wagon, which has been describedas having its contents concealed with so much apparent care.Notwithstanding this particular conveyance appeared to be as silent,and as tenantless as the rest of the vehicles, the men applied theirstrength to its wheels, and rolled it apart from the others, to a dryand elevated spot, near the edge of the thicket. Here they broughtcertain poles, which had, seemingly, been long employed in such aservice, and fastening their larger ends firmly in the ground, thesmaller were attached to the hoops that supported the covering of thewagon. Large folds of cloth were next drawn out of the vehicle, andafter being spread around the whole, were pegged to the earth in sucha manner as to form a tolerably capacious and an exceedingly convenienttent. After surveying their work with inquisitive, and perhaps jealouseyes, arranging a fold here, and driving a peg more firmly there, themen once more applied their strength to the wagon, pulling it, by itsprojecting tongue, from the centre of the canopy, until it appearedin the open air, deprived of its covering, and destitute of any otherfreight, than a few light articles of furniture. The latter wereimmediately removed, by the traveller, into the tent with his ownhands, as though to enter it, were a privilege, to which even his bosomcompanion was not entitled.

  Curiosity is a passion that is rather quickened than destroyed byseclusion, and the old inhabitant of the prairies did not view theseprecautionary and mysterious movements, without experiencing some ofits impulses. He approached the tent, and was about to sever two of itsfolds, with the very obvious intention of examining, more closely, intothe nature of its contents, when the man who had once already placed hislife in jeopardy, seized him by the arm, and with a rude exercise ofhis strength threw him from the spot he had selected as the one mostconvenient for his object.

  "It's an honest regulation, friend," the fellow, drily observed, thoughwith an eye that threatened volumes, "and sometimes it is a safe one,which says, mind your own business."

  "Men seldom bring any thing to be concealed into these deserts,"returned the old man, as if willing, and yet a little ignorant how toapologize for the liberty he had been about to take, "and I had hoped nooffence, in examining your comforts."

  "They seldom bring themselves, I reckon; though this has the look of anold country, to my eye it seems not to be overly peopled."

  "The land is as aged as the rest of the works of the Lord, I believe;but you say true, concerning its inhabitants. Many months have passedsince I have laid eyes on a face of my own colour, before your own.I say again, friend, I meant no harm; I did not know, but there wassomething behind the cloth, that might bring former days to my mind."

  As the stranger ended his simple explanation, he walked meekly away,like one who felt the deepest sense of the right which every man has tothe quiet enjoyment of his own, without any troublesome interference onthe part of his neighbour; a wholesome and just principle that he had,also, most probably imbibed from the habits of his secluded life. Ashe passed towards the little encampment of the emigrants, for such theplace had now become, he heard the voice of the leader calling aloud, inits hoarse tones, the name of--

  "Ellen Wade."

  The girl who has been already introduced to the reader, and who wasoccupied with the others of her sex around the fires, sprang willinglyforward at this summons; and, passing the stranger with the activity ofa young antelope, she was instantly lost behind the forbidden folds ofthe tent. Neither her sudden disappearance, nor any of the arrangementswe have mentioned, seemed, however, to excite the smallest surpriseamong the remainder of the party. The young men, who had alreadycompleted their tasks with the axe, were all engaged after theirlounging and listless manner; some in bestowing equitable portionsof the fodder among the different animals; others in plying the heavypestle of a moveable homminy-mortar[*]; and one or two in wheeling theremainder of the wagons aside, and arranging them in such a manner as toform a sort of outwork for their otherwise defenceless bivouac.

  [*] Homminy, is a dish composed chiefly of cracked corn, or maize.

  These several duties were soon performed, and, as darkness now beganto conceal the objects on the surrounding prairie, the shrill-tonedtermagant, whose voice since the halt had been diligently exercisedamong her idle and drowsy offspring, announced, in tones that might havebeen heard at a dangerous distance, that the evening meal waited onlyfor the approach of those who were to consume it. Whatever may be theother qualities of a border man, he is seldom deficient in the virtueof hospitality. The emigrant no sooner heard the sharp call of his wife,than he cast his eyes abo
ut him in quest of the stranger, in order tooffer him the place of distinction, in the rude entertainment to whichthey were so unceremoniously summoned.

  "I thank you, friend," the old man replied to the rough invitation totake a seat nigh the smoking kettle; "you have my hearty thanks; butI have eaten for the day, and am not one of them, who dig their graveswith their teeth. Well; as you wish it, I will take a place, for it islong sin' I have seen people of my colour, eating their daily bread."

  "You ar' an old settler, in these districts, then?" the emigrant ratherremarked than enquired, with a mouth filled nearly to overflowing withthe delicious homminy, prepared by his skilful, though repulsivespouse. "They told us below, we should find settlers something thinnish,hereaway, and I must say, the report was mainly true; for, unless, wecount the Canada traders on the big river, you ar' the first white faceI have met, in a good five hundred miles; that is calculating accordingto your own reckoning."

  "Though I have spent some years, in this quarter, I can hardly be calleda settler, seeing that I have no regular abode, and seldom pass morethan a month, at a time, on the same range."

  "A hunter, I reckon?" the other continued, glancing his eyes aside, asif to examine the equipments of his new acquaintance; "your fixen seemnone of the best, for such a calling."

  "They are old, and nearly ready to be laid aside, like their master,"said the old man, regarding his rifle, with a look in which affectionand regret were singularly blended; "and I may say they are but littleneeded, too. You are mistaken, friend, in calling me a hunter; I amnothing better than a trapper."[*]

  [*] It is scarcely necessary to say, that this American word means one who takes his game in a trap. It is of general use on the frontiers. The beaver, an animal too sagacious to be easily killed, is oftener taken in this way than in any other.

  "If you ar' much of the one, I'm bold to say you ar' something of theother; for the two callings, go mainly together, in these districts."

  "To the shame of the man who is able to follow the first be it so said!"returned the trapper, whom in future we shall choose to designate byhis pursuit; "for more than fifty years did I carry my rifle in thewilderness, without so much as setting a snare for even a bird thatflies the heavens;--much less, a beast that has nothing but legs, forits gifts."

  "I see but little difference whether a man gets his peltry by the rifleor by the trap," said the ill-looking companion of the emigrant, in hisrough manner. "The 'arth was made for our comfort; and, for that matter,so ar' its creatur's."

  "You seem to have but little plunder,[*] stranger, for one who is farabroad," bluntly interrupted the emigrant, as if he had a reason forwishing to change the conversation. "I hope you ar' better off forskins."

  [*] The cant word for luggage in the western states of America is "plunder." The term might easily mislead one as to the character of the people, who, notwithstanding their pleasant use of so expressive a word, are, like the inhabitants of all new settlements, hospitable and honest. Knavery of the description conveyed by "plunder," is chiefly found in regions more civilised.

  "I make but little use of either," the trapper quietly replied. "At mytime of life, food and clothing be all that is needed; and I have littleoccasion for what you call plunder, unless it may be, now and then, tobarter for a horn of powder, or a bar of lead."

  "You ar' not, then, of these parts by natur', friend," the emigrantcontinued, having in his mind the exception which the other had takento the very equivocal word, which he himself, according to the custom ofthe country, had used for "baggage," or "effects."

  "I was born on the sea-shore, though most of my life has been passed inthe woods."

  The whole party now looked up at him, as men are apt to turn their eyeson some unexpected object of general interest. One or two of the youngmen repeated the words "sea-shore" and the woman tendered him oneof those civilities with which, uncouth as they were, she was littleaccustomed to grace her hospitality, as if in deference to the travelleddignity of her guest. After a long, and, seemingly, a meditatingsilence, the emigrant, who had, however, seen no apparent necessity tosuspend the functions of his masticating powers, resumed the discourse.

  "It is a long road, as I have heard, from the waters of the west to theshores of the main sea?"

  "It is a weary path, indeed, friend; and much have I seen, and somethinghave I suffered, in journeying over it."

  "A man would see a good deal of hard travel in going its length!"

  "Seventy and five years have I been upon the road; and there are nothalf that number of leagues in the whole distance, after you leave theHudson, on which I have not tasted venison of my own killing. But thisis vain boasting. Of what use are former deeds, when time draws to anend?"

  "I once met a man that had boated on the river he names," observed theeldest son, speaking in a low tone of voice, like one who distrusted hisknowledge, and deemed it prudent to assume a becoming diffidence in thepresence of a man who had seen so much: "from his tell, it must bea considerable stream, and deep enough for a keel-boat, from top tobottom."

  "It is a wide and deep water-course, and many sightly towns are theregrowing on its banks," returned the trapper; "and yet it is but a brookto the waters of the endless river."

  "I call nothing a stream that a man can travel round," exclaimed theill-looking associate of the emigrant: "a real river must be crossed;not headed, like a bear in a county hunt."[*]

  [*] There is a practice, in the new countries, to assemble the men of a large district, sometimes of an entire county, to exterminate the beasts of prey. They form themselves into a circle of several miles in extent, and gradually draw nearer, killing all before them. The allusion is to this custom, in which the hunted beast is turned from one to another.

  "Have you been far towards the sun-down, friend?" interrupted theemigrant, as if he desired to keep his rough companion as much aspossible out of the discourse. "I find it is a wide tract of clearing,this, into which I have fallen."

  "You may travel weeks, and you will see it the same. I often think theLord has placed this barren belt of prairie behind the States, towarn men to what their folly may yet bring the land! Ay, weeks, if notmonths, may you journey in these open fields, in which there is neitherdwelling nor habitation for man or beast. Even the savage animals travelmiles on miles to seek their dens; and yet the wind seldom blows fromthe east, but I conceit the sound of axes, and the crash of fallingtrees, are in my ears."

  As the old man spoke with the seriousness and dignity that age seldomfails to communicate even to less striking sentiments, his auditors weredeeply attentive, and as silent as the grave. Indeed, the trapperwas left to renew the dialogue himself, which he soon did by askinga question, in the indirect manner so much in use by the borderinhabitants.

  "You found it no easy matter to ford the water-courses, and to make yourway so deep into the prairies, friend, with teams of horses and herds ofhorned beasts?"

  "I kept the left bank of the main river," the emigrant replied, "until Ifound the stream leading too much to the north, when we rafted ourselvesacross without any great suffering. The women lost a fleece or twofrom the next year's shearing, and the girls have one cow less to theirdairy. Since then, we have done bravely, by bridging a creek every dayor two."

  "It is likely you will continue west, until you come to land moresuitable for a settlement?"

  "Until I see reason to stop, or to turn ag'in," the emigrant bluntlyanswered, rising at the same time, and cutting short the dialogue by thesuddenness of the movement. His example was followed by the trapper, aswell as the rest of the party; and then, without much deference tothe presence of their guest, the travellers proceeded to make theirdispositions to pass the night. Several little bowers, or rather huts,had already been formed of the tops of trees, blankets of coarse countrymanufacture, and the skins of buffaloes, united without much referenceto any other object than temporary comfort. Into these covers thechildren, with thei
r mother, soon drew themselves, and where, it is morethan possible, they were all speedily lost in the oblivion of sleep.Before the men, however, could seek their rest, they had sundry littleduties to perform; such as completing their works of defence, carefullyconcealing the fires, replenishing the fodder of their cattle, andsetting the watch that was to protect the party, in the approachinghours of night.

  The former was effected by dragging the trunks of a few trees intothe intervals left by the wagons, and along the open space between thevehicles and the thicket, on which, in military language, the encampmentwould be said to have rested; thus forming a sort of chevaux-de-friseon three sides of the position. Within these narrow limits (with theexception of what the tent contained), both man and beast were nowcollected; the latter being far too happy in resting their wearylimbs, to give any undue annoyance to their scarcely more intelligentassociates. Two of the young men took their rifles; and, first renewingthe priming, and examining the flints with the utmost care, theyproceeded, the one to the extreme right, and the other to the left, ofthe encampment, where they posted themselves within the shadows of thethicket; but in such positions as enabled each to overlook a portion ofthe prairie.

  The trapper loitered about the place, declining to share the strawof the emigrant, until the whole arrangement was completed; and then,without the ceremony of an adieu, he slowly retired from the spot.

  It was now in the first watch of the night; and the pale, quivering, anddeceptive light, from a new moon, was playing over the endless waves ofthe prairie, tipping the swells with gleams of brightness, and leavingthe interval land in deep shadow. Accustomed to scenes of solitude likethe present, the old man, as he left the encampment, proceeded aloneinto the waste, like a bold vessel leaving its haven to enter on thetrackless field of the ocean. He appeared to move for some time withoutobject, or, indeed, without any apparent consciousness, whither hislimbs were carrying him. At length, on reaching the rise of one of theundulations, he came to a stand; and, for the first time since leavingthe band, who had caused such a flood of reflections and recollectionsto crowd upon his mind, the old man became aware of his presentsituation. Throwing one end of his rifle to the earth, he stood leaningon the other, again lost in deep contemplation for several minutes,during which time his hound came and crouched at his feet. A deep,menacing growl, from the faithful animal, first aroused him from hismusing.

  "What now, dog?" he said, looking down at his companion, as if headdressed a being of an intelligence equal to his own, and speaking ina voice of great affection. "What is it, pup? ha! Hector; what is itnosing, now? It won't do, dog; it won't do; the very fa'ns play in openview of us, without minding so worn out curs, as you and I. Instinctis their gift, Hector and, they have found out how little we are to befeared, they have!"

  The dog stretched his head upward, and responded to the words of hismaster by a long and plaintive whine, which he even continued after hehad again buried his head in the grass, as if he held an intelligentcommunication with one who so well knew how to interpret dumb discourse.

  "This is a manifest warning, Hector!" the trapper continued, droppinghis voice, to the tones of caution and looking warily about him. "Whatis it, pup; speak plainer, dog; what is it?"

  The hound had, however, already laid his nose to the earth, and wassilent; appearing to slumber. But the keen quick glances of his master,soon caught a glimpse of a distant figure, which seemed, through thedeceptive light, floating along the very elevation on which he hadplaced himself. Presently its proportions became more distinct, and thenan airy, female form appeared to hesitate, as if considering whether itwould be prudent to advance. Though the eyes of the dog were now to beseen glancing in the rays of the moon, opening and shutting lazily, hegave no further signs of displeasure.

  "Come nigher; we are friends," said the trapper, associating himselfwith his companion by long use, and, probably, through the strength ofthe secret tie that connected them together; "we are your friends; nonewill harm you."

  Encouraged by the mild tones of his voice, and perhaps led on by theearnestness of her purpose, the female approached, until she stood athis side; when the old man perceived his visitor to be the young woman,with whom the reader, has already become acquainted by the name of"Ellen Wade."

  "I had thought you were gone," she said, looking timidly and anxiouslyaround. "They said you were gone; and that we should never see youagain. I did not think it was you!"

  "Men are no common objects in these empty fields," returned the trapper,"and I humbly hope, though I have so long consorted with the beasts ofthe wilderness, that I have not yet lost the look of my kind."

  "Oh! I knew you to be a man, and I thought I knew the whine of thehound, too," she answered hastily, as if willing to explain she knew notwhat, and then checking herself, like one fearful of having already saidtoo much.

  "I saw no dogs, among the teams of your father," the trapper remarked.

  "Father!" exclaimed the girl, feelingly, "I have no father! I had nearlysaid no friend."

  The old man turned towards her, with a look of kindness and interest,that was even more conciliating than the ordinary, upright, andbenevolent expression of his weather-beaten countenance.

  "Why then do you venture in a place where none but the strong shouldcome?" he demanded. "Did you not know that, when you crossed the bigriver, you left a friend behind you that is always bound to look to theyoung and feeble, like yourself."

  "Of whom do you speak?"

  "The law--'tis bad to have it, but, I sometimes think, it is worse tobe entirely without it. Age and weakness have brought me to feel suchweakness, at times. Yes--yes, the law is needed, when such as have notthe gifts of strength and wisdom are to be taken care of. I hope, youngwoman, if you have no father, you have at least a brother."

  The maiden felt the tacit reproach conveyed in this covert question,and for a moment she remained in an embarrassed silence. But catchinga glimpse of the mild and serious features of her companion, as hecontinued to gaze on her with a look of interest, she replied, firmly,and in a manner that left no doubt she comprehended his meaning:

  "Heaven forbid that any such as you have seen, should be a brother ofmine, or any thing else near or dear to me! But, tell me, do you thenactually live alone, in this desert district, old man; is there reallynone here besides yourself?"

  "There are hundreds, nay, thousands of the rightful owners of thecountry, roving about the plains; but few of our own colour."

  "And have you then met none who are white, but us?" interrupted thegirl, like one too impatient to await the tardy explanations of age anddeliberation.

  "Not in many days--Hush, Hector, hush," he added in reply to a low, andnearly inaudible, growl from his hound. "The dog scents mischief in thewind! The black bears from the mountains sometimes make their way, evenlower than this. The pup is not apt to complain of the harmless game.I am not so ready and true with the piece as I used-to-could-be, yet Ihave struck even the fiercest animals of the prairie in my time; so, youhave little reason for fear, young woman."

  The girl raised her eyes, in that peculiar manner which is so oftenpractised by her sex, when they commence their glances, by examining theearth at their feet, and terminate them by noting every thing withinthe power of human vision; but she rather manifested the quality ofimpatience, than any feeling of alarm.

  A short bark from the dog, however, soon gave a new direction to thelooks of both, and then the real object of his second warning becamedimly visible.